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GAME SUMMARIES

TIGERS TOPPLE SENECA VALLEY,
QUALIFY FOR STATE PLAYOFFS

by Lee Mohn

North Allegheny qualified for the state playoffs Friday night by defeating Seneca Valley 11-5 in a play in game from Chartiers Valley high school. North Allegheny attacked the Seneca Valley zone with great patience and was able to break the game open in the second half. Joe Griffin and Jared Yon scored for the Tigers in the first ten minutes to make the score 2-0. The Raiders would tie it at 2-2, scoring the last two goals of the first quarter 1:30 apart. Michael Eck mad it 3-2 firing a long range shot past the goalie at the 8:12 mark but Seneca answered back 2:30 later.

The Tigers would then score the next two goals and the first six of the second half to take an 11-3 lead and went on to victory. Eck led the Tigers with four goals, Griffin had three goals and Yon posted two goals for the Tigers. Freshman goalie John Abbondanza was spectacular in net early on for the Tigers making six or seven key saves. Eck was named the Wright automotive player of the game. The Tigers will now face the WPIAL champion Wednesday night at 7pm. You will be also able to listen to the game right here on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

If you’d like to check out the PIAA brackets, click for Lacrosse Brackets.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 11 SENECA VALLEY - 5

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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NA EDGED BY SEWICKLEY ACADEMY IN
WPIAL SEMIFINALS

by Lacrosse Contributor

The NA Tigers were seeking revenge on the Sewickley Academy Panthers at Chartiers Valley High School in the semifinal round of the WPIAL playoffs, but were narrowly defeated 13-12 on Wednesday night.  First quarter action saw Sewickley scoring the first three goals at 11:21 by Ben Brown, at 8:47 by Grant Abraham and at 3:14 by Jake Mullholland.  NA’s first goal came at 3:05 when Dan Wiese received a pin point pass from Jared Yon. Sewickley fired back just six seconds later with a goal by Rob Kendall and then again at 2:59 by Ed Lally.  The Tigers trailed 5-1 at the end of first.

Second quarter action saw NA’s defense start to tighten up and held Sewickley at bay until 7:03 when Brown tallied his second of the night for Sewickley.  Wiese scored his second of the night with the assist going once again to Yon at 4:49.  Twenty-six seconds later Sewickley’s Abraham scored and then with just 1:12 left in the half NA’s Mike Eck scored to cut the Panthers lead to 7-3 at halftime.

Third quarter action saw NA’s Wiese score at 10:35, Sewickley’s Lally at 7:29, Eck fired right back 29 seconds later and then Lally came back again at 6:06 and 5:43.  Wiese scored with 1:18 left in the third and Sewickley led 10-6 at the end of third.

Things started to really roll for the Tigers as they pawed away in the fourth.  Junior Artie Stypula scored at 10:23. Then it was Wiese at 9:18, Eck at 8:40 and again at 6:48, Ryan Worsena at 4:41, and Eck again at 3:02.  The Tigers were up 12-10 with just 3:02 to go. The Panthers pulled out all the stops and the momentum turned as Abraham scored at 2:14, and 1:36.  Soon after that, Lally broke the tie with a shot at 1:05 and Tigers were defeated, 13-12. If you’d like to check out the Division-1 brackets, click for Lacrosse Brackets.       

GAME SUMMARY
SEWICKLEY ACADEMY - 13   NORTH ALLEGHENY - 12

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NA PREPARING FOR PLAYOFF FORAY WITH SEWICKLEY ACADEMY

With a trip to the WPIAL Championship on the line, the North Allegheny Boys’ Lacrosse team will have more than just revenge on its mind when the Tigers battle Sewickley Academy on Wednesday night in the Division 1 semifinals.  The Tigers narrowly lost at Sewickley Academy in April by a 15-13 final.  However, since that loss, NA has rolled off 10 straight wins and doing so in impressive fashion.  The Tigers have easily disposed of opponent after opponent during the winning streak, including a 20-7 win over Shady Side Academy in the quarterfinals.  To earn the right to play the Tigers in the semifinals, Sewickley bounced Franklin Regional from the playoffs with a 16-10 victory last week.  Wednesday’s meeting between North Allegheny and Sewickley Academy is slated for 6:00 pm at Chartiers Valley High School.  If you’d like to check out the Division-1 brackets, click for Lacrosse Brackets.       

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TIGERS DEMOLISH SHADY SIDE ACADEMY
IN QUARTERFINALS

by Lee Mohn

The Tigers scored the first six goals Thursday night, had a two minute lapse, then got back on track and cruised to a 20-7 quarterfinal victory over Shadyside Academy.  Two goals apiece by Ryan Worsena and Michael Eck and one goal from Bill Kelleher gave the Tigers a 5-0 led at the end of the first period.  Michael Eck made it 6-0 three minutes into the second but then the Indians scored four straight in 1:55 to cut the lead to 6-4.  They had a chance to cut the lead to one goal but a huge save by goalie John Abbondanza set up the transition for a long pass to Jared Yon at midfield who then set up Dan Wiese who fired a shot pass the goalie and made it 7-4. 

It was all Tigers from threat point on.  North Allegheny would lead 11-4 at the half, 18-6 at the end of three and before Mike Zombeck finally closed out the scoring with 30 seconds left to bring the final score to 20-7.  Worsena had five goals, Eck six goals, and Wiese three goals for the Tigers.  The Wright Automotive player of the game was Jared Yon for his play on both ends of the field plus one goal and three assists.  North Allegheny will now move on to the semifinals Wednesday night at 6 pm and try to take revenge on Sewickley Academy.   

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 20   SHADY SIDE ACADEMY - 7

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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NA GEARS UP FOR PLAYOFFS

The North Allegheny Boys’ Lacrosse team will wait to find out their opponent in the Quarterfinals of the WPIAL playoffs next week.  The Tigers received a two-seed from the pairing committee and will play the winner of Shady Side Academy and Bethel Park in a game that will be played Monday night.  North Allegheny wrapped up their regular season schedule on Friday with a 14-10 win over Peters Township, bringing their record to 13-3.  NA will be at home at Newman Stadium for Thursday’s quarterfinal game.  The opening face off is slated for 7:00 pm.  If you’d like to check out the Division-1 brackets, click for Lacrosse Brackets.    

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TIGERS TOPPLE RAMS, 15-9

by Lacrosse Contributor

The Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 lead to start the first period and never looked in the rearview mirror on their way to a 15-9 victory.  Mike Eck was the first to score with just 33 seconds ticked away.  Ryan Worsena scored seven seconds later with a pass from Eck.  NA’s Billy Kelleher scored from Jared Yon at 10:25 and then Worsena  scored at 3:35.  It was looking like a nightmare for Pine Richland down 4-0, but then the Rams Mike Dugan scored two unassisted goals at 3:07 and :16.  At the end of 1, Tigers led 4-2.

NA’s defense continued to play tough in the second with Andy Stoof standing out with some great takeaways.  This gave Anthony Peluso a chance to score unassisted early in the second quarter.  The Rams came back 30 seconds later with a goal by Jake Savitz.  Dan Wiese scored at 10:30 with the assist going to junior Grady Wagner. Wagner then scored one alone on a breakaway just 10 seconds later. Eck scored his second of seven goals for the night at 9:45 and then Worsena came up with a great shot at 8:59.  Pine Richland’s offense was dominated by the strong play of the NA defense giving them very little chance to score.  However, the Rams Mintzer scored on an assist from Savitz at 4:04 and the first half ended with the Tigers headed to the locker room up 10-4.

The third quarter was beginning to look like a yard sale with all the yellow flags being thrown against the Tigers offense and defense.  The Tigers seemed to be a little rattled by all of this but were still able to get three goals on the board, two unassisted by Eck and another by Eck with the assist going to Yon. The Rams were held to just two goals for the quarter, one by Zang and one by Savitz.  At the end of third, the Tigers were up 13-7.

The penalties against the Tigers were flowing much like the overflowing Mississippi again in the fourth.  Eck was first to score at 10:29 but then the Rams Zang  came back with two unassisted goals at 8:24 and 6:44 respectively.  Joe Griffin scored the final goal for the Tigers and they walked off the field with the mighty Ram in their jaws.  Final score 15-9, Tigers.

The Tigers will meet Peters Township for their final home game of the regular season on Friday night at 7:30.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 15   PINE-RICHLAND - 9

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TIGERS POUND PANTHERS, 18-4

by Lacrosse Contributor

The Tigers traveled to Upper Saint Clair on Monday evening to take on the 8-5 Panthers in what was billed as a very tough game.  The first few minutes looked like this was going to be some tough competition as the Panthers scored first. The Tigers Ryan Mauro scored just 14 seconds later to tie the score at 1-1 with assist going to Mike Eck. At 7:16 Ryan Worsena scored off a pass from Billy Kelleher to make it 2-1, Tigers. Less than a minute later Eck scored again unassisted and the train was really starting to pick up some steam.  Jared Yon put his first of three goals in the net at 4:06 with the assist going to Joey Griffin. USC came back right away with a quick goal and then Griffin scored unassisted at 2:38 to put the Tigers up 5-2 at the end of one.

If the North Allegheny Sports Network were broadcasting this game they would have had a really difficult decision picking the Wright Automotive Player of the Game. The award could easily have gone to one of three players; Anthony Peluso for his outstanding play taking faceoffs, Clay Bunting for his continuous stripping of the ball from the offensive or to Johnny Brandon for defending the goal like it was his paid profession.

When you look at final scores like the Tigers have had lately it’s usually the offensive players that you see the names highlighted in the paper.  However, the extremely tough play that the defense has been putting up has really enabled the offense to capitalize on these situations.

Second quarter action saw Griffin score at 11:53, Kelleher scoring at 5:35 with Worsena on the assist, Worsena unassisted at 3:45 and then USC scoring at 3:30. Yon scored at 3:30, Eck at 2:28 and Worsena at 2:00 all unassisted.  Tigers went to the end zone for the halftime talk leading 11-2

Third quarter action saw the Tigers defensive players John McMurty, Andy Stoof, and Clay Bunting dismantle the Panthers one by one and holding them to only one goal for the 12 minute period.  Yon scored unassisted at 10:33, and again at 6:19 with assist going to Eck. Dan Wiese scored at 5:54 with the assist going to Eck. USC scored at 2:26 and with just seven seconds left in the quarter Worsena eyed Wiese in midair in front of goal and made an unbelievable pass that Wiese capitalized on to end the quarter with the Tigers up 15-3.

The Panthers started the fourth in a situation that was impossible to overcome. The Tigers kept their relentless efforts both offensively and defensively with many substitutions and were able to add three more on the board.  Nick Foglio scored unassisted at 9:58. Artie Stypula scored unassisted at 7:13, and it was Foglio who scored an unassisted goal with just 40 seconds left to give the Tigers the win with the final score 18-4. 

The non-section victory was North Allegheny’s seventh in-a-row to improve to 11-3 on the season.  Upper St. Clair falls to 8-6 overall.  The Tigers host Pine-Richland on Wednesday night for their final section game of the regular season.  All the action gets underway at Newman Stadium at 7:30 pm. 

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 18   UPPER ST. CLAIR - 4

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NA WINS SIXTH STRAIGHT,
CRUSHES BETHEL PARK 17-4

The North Allegheny Boys’ Lacrosse team was again running on all cylinders on Friday night with a 17-4 pummeling of the Bethel Park Blackhawks.  The Tigers gained control of this non-section game early, behind a barrage of first quarter goals.  NA put up an 11 spot in the first as Dan Wiese struck for four goals, while Ryan Worsena and Mike Eck tallied three goals apiece and Art Stypula pushed one into the Bethel Park net as well.  The only Blackhawks goal scored in the period belonged to Chas Davis.

Davis scored to start the second quarter at 10:52, but North Allegheny would continue their charge with four unanswered goals to end the half.  Wiese and Eck scored the first two of those goals, while Joe Griffin and Billy Kelleher added the second two.  The Tigers offense was sleek and smooth as passers hit open men in stride for wide open goals in front of the Bethel Park net.  The face offs were dominated by Anthony Peluso, Christopher Leasher and Ian Peace.    

Defensively, the goaltending of John Abbondanza was outstanding.  Even though Abbondanza wasn’t tested too often, he shined on any opportunity he had as he stuffed the Blackhawks time and time again.  The defensemen, led by Clay Bunting, Andy Stoof and John McMurtry, hampered and harassed Bethel Park’s attack all night long.

The Tigers cruised to victory in the second half with the mercy in effect.  Jared Jon scored the 16^th goal of the night for NA and Worsena put up the Tigers final marker with 4:36 to go in the third quarter.  Bethel Park’s Tyler Andrew capped the scoring with a goal at 1:19 left in the third to bring the score to 17-4, Tigers.

In a game dominated by the Tigers, the North Allegheny Sports Network selected Dan Wiese as the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.  Wiese’s five goals and his pin-point passes helped push NA toward victory in a well played game by everyone wearing a Tiger uniform. 

North Allegheny, who have already locked up the section title thanks to their win over Seneca Valley earlier in the week, improved their record to 10-3 overall. The Tigers have now won five in-a-row and hope to make it six straight with a visit to Upper St. Clair on Monday night.              

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 17   BETHEL PARK - 4

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TIGERS RAID SENECA VALLEY, 16-7

by Lacrosse Contributor

In a battle for the top spot in Division 1, Section 2, the North Allegheny Tigers laid claim to first place with an astounding 16-7 win at Seneca Valley on Wednesday night. The story of the Tigers trouncing of the Raiders in last night’s game must have begun on the bus ride with a speech from North Allegheny head coach John Rullan.  The game was totally about teamwork, and can’t you just hear him saying “there is no I in team”. 

First quarter action saw Seneca Valley’s Will Koontz score first at 9:44, but NA’s Mike Eck responded 44 seconds later for the Tigers to tie the score at 1-1. SV’s Derrick Finney scored at 6:24 but then Dan Wiese tied it right away with an unassisted shot to bring the score to 2-2.  Eck capitalized on a nice pass from Ryan Mauro and the NA defense kept the Raiders at bay for almost three minutes before they scored their third and final goal of the first quarter. The Tigers Jared Yon had an unbelievable shot to end the first to put the Tigers up, 4-3

Second quarter action started off like a fast moving freight train for NA. Ryan Worsena put in his first of the night in at 11:10 and he had an assist to Eck at 11:04. At 9:09, Grady Wagner passed a sneaker to Eck for a goal, and then Eck scored unassisted again at 8:04. SV scored a quick one at 6:45 and then NA’s Wiese  came back with a goal after a fantastic pass from Worsena. Fifty seconds later Wiese scored again with the assist going to Yon.  Seneca’s David Hall snuck one in past Johnnie Brandon but then Wiese scored again to take the Tigers to the locker room at the half up 11-5.

Anthony Peluso won the face off to start the third, winning 19 of 23 on the night, and got the ball to Wiese who passed to Eck for a goal to get the Tigers going. Less than two minutes later Wiese passed to Worsena for a goal and then just 14 seconds later Eck scored an unassisted goal. SV’s Argyros was the last to score in the third with the Tigers up 14-6.

The fourth quarter was a battle of the defenses with only one goal tallied on each side. SV’s David Hall scored with 2:54 on the clock and NA’s  Artie Stypula lit up the board for the final goal at 2:02.  Tigers split time in the goal tonight with Brandon taking control in the first half and John Abbondanza keeping the Raiders out of the cage in the second.

The win gives NA sole possession of first place in the section with a 4-0 mark and 9-3 overall record.  The Raiders fall to 3-1 in the section and 6-8 overall.  The Tigers will be back in action on Friday night for a non-section meeting with the Bethel Park Blackhawks.  The game will be carried live via the internet on the North Allegheny Sports Network.  Face-off is slated for 7:30 pm.     

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 16   SENECA VALLEY - 7

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NA TIGERS CRUISE OVER SHADY SIDE

by Lacrosse Contributor

Defense, defense, defense is the reason that the NA Boys' Lacrosse team was able to easily handle the Shady Side Academy Indians Monday night at Newmann Stadium for an 11-5 victory.  Outstanding play by Clay Bunting and his often overlooked defensive teammates John McMurtry, Andy Stoof, John Brandon and John Abbondanza helped to hold the Indians to five goals the entire evening. 

Although Shady Side was first on the board with a goal by Paul Wexler at 4:34, the Tigers Mike Eck responded just four seconds later for his first of five goals for the night. The Tigers then scored again from a great pass by Billy Kelleher to Ryan Worsena with 1:30 remaining in the first to put Tigers up 2-1.

Worsena tallied his second of the night with just 58 seconds off the clock in the second and things were a little slow paced until Shady Side’s Wexler scored his second of the night at 8:07.  Tigers middies, Anthony Peluso and Chris Leasher, took control of the face off situation and kept the ball in the offensive hands which enabled the Eck/Worsena duo to score five more unanswered goals and the Tigers headed to the locker room at the half up 8-2.

Kelleher had a beautiful unassisted goal at 11:37 in the third to bring the score to 9-2.  At this point the Tigers were sitting back just watching their prey.  Shady Side’s Will King scored at 7:58 and the Tigers started the fourth quarter on top, 9-3.

North Allegheny head coach John Rullan did some of his usual substitutions in the fourth but not before Worsena scored at 10:05.  Shady Side came back with a goal at 5:10 by A.J. Lewen and then Eck returned the favor 40 seconds later with his final goal of the evening. Shady Side’s Will King scored with 1:12 remaining but it was too little too late as the Tigers easily handled the Indians 11-5.  The Tigers travel to Seneca Valley Wednesday evening for their next game.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 11   SHADY SIDE ACADEMY - 5

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NA DISMANTLES SHALER, 20-4

by Lacrosse Contributor

There was no clash of the Titans at Shaler’s Biles Field on Tuesday night for a non-section contest between two of the rivals from the north.  North Allegheny chopped down the Titans with a 20-4 win.  It looked like the Tigers were just continuing last night’s game when Dan Wiese scored the first goal on a great pass from Anthony Peluso at 10:43.  Jared Yon fired in an unassisted goal just 13 seconds later for a 2-0 Tigers lead. Shaler’s Luke Lynch chocked up the first goal for the Titans at 7:58, but this just got the Tigers fired up and started a seven goal unanswered streak.  Mike Eck scored a pair of goals, as Peluso, Wiese, Joey Griffin, Ryan Worsena and Jared Yon all scored goals to give the Tigers a 9-1 lead after one quarter.

At the beginning of the second, Tigers coach John Rullan started the quarter with many substitutions to give some much deserved playing time to both the offense and defensive lines.  Ryan Mauro scored a goal with on a tic tac toe pass from Chris Leasher at 9:32.  With Shaler taking a penalty at 3:53, coach Hoffman put back in starters Worsena and Wiese to try and hone the man up offense and the outcome was just as planned with Worsena scoring from Wiese at 3:26 and North Allegheny’s lead grew to 11-1.  Shaler’s Roman Benty scored at 1:30 and NA’s Artie Stypula scored an unassisted goal at 0:54.  Tigers headed to the locker room leading 12-2 at the half.

Nick Foglio scored first in the third quarter with a great assist coming from Mike Zombeck at 5:16.  Shaler’s Jon Monahan scored an unassisted goal at 4:56 and then Wiese scored on a rocket coming from the stick of his teammate Worsena at 2:51. Robert Greenler had a great fake and passed the ball to Foglio for his second of the night at 2:00 and the quarter ended with NA leading 15-3.

Zombeck passed the ball to Griffin with 8:45 on the clock for the first goal of the fourth to make it 16-3, Tigers. Then senior Ian Peace had his first of the night with an assist going to Zombeck.  Shaler’s Cory MacIeski scored Shaler’s fourth and final goal of the evening at 5:39 but the Tigers were not done gnawing at the Titans because Foglio put in his third of the night with the assist going to Zombeck at 4:15.  Leasher weaved his way through the Titans defense to pass the ball to Peace for a goal at 3:20 and the final goal was scored at 2:20 by Tyler Peck. 

The Tiger defense really made this all possible as they did in the Central game by methodically stripping the ball and getting it back to the NA offense.  This was a perfect example of teamwork.  The final score read 20-4, Tigers.

The Tigers face Shadyside Academy Monday evening (weather permitting) at Newman Stadium for a section game that starts at 7:30 pm.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 20   SHALER - 4

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NA CRUSHES CENTRAL CATHOLIC, 20-8

Only “Mother Nature” held the North Allegheny Tigers at bay on Monday night, but in the end even that wasn’t enough to stop them.  An over one hour lightning delay kept the Tigers high powered offensive attack in the locker room waiting for a chance to play.  Once the weather had passed by Newman Stadium, North Allegheny used that pent-up energy to manhandle the Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings, 20-8. 

The final score wasn’t truly indicative of how one-sided this game actually was.  The Tigers offense scored as quickly and as often as the lightning strikes preceding the game.  After an opening face off win by Anthony Peluso, NA’s Dan Wiese blew a shot past Central Catholic goalie Michael George and the Tigers were ahead 1-0 just seven seconds into the game.  Starting at 9:06 on the first quarter clock, North Allegheny’s relentless offense stunned the Vikings with four goals in a 43 second span.  Joe Griffin, Ryan Worsena, Mike Eck and Grady Wagner all netted goals consecutively and with 8:23 remaining in the first the Tigers held a 5-0 lead.  From that point, the rout was on.  NA held a 9-1 advantage by the end of the quarter, with Eck totaling five goals in the period. 

The second quarter didn’t get any better for Central Catholic as Wiese tallied a pair of goals just over a minute in to give North Allegheny an 11-1 lead.  Wiese scored two more times before the period was through, while Ryan Mauro, Jared Yon and Billy Kelleher also notched goals.  Worsena, Eck, and Griffin also posted scores to give the Tigers a 19-4 lead at halftime.   The key to the first half scoring was Peluso’s work on the face off.  The junior continuously won face off after face off, setting up most of NA’s goals.  For his efforts, Peluso was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game. 

The scoring slowed considerably in the second half with NA in cruise control.  Peter Kovacevic scored the Tigers’ last goal of the night at 8:13 in the third quarter to make the score 20-4.  With the outcome already decided, Central Catholic’s Will Maher, Luke Smith and J.J. Bush were among the goal scorers that brought the final to 20-8.

In net, John Brandon and John Abbondanza again split time and performed well.  In particular, Abbondanza had some sterling saves in the second half.  Defenseman Clay Bunting also made his presence felt to the Vikings with some teeth rattling checks.    

With the non-section win, North Allegheny improves to 6-3 overall.  Central Catholic falls to 5-5 overall on the year.  The Tigers are back in action tonight with a visit to Shaler.  The opening face off is slated for 7:30 pm.

To listen to Randy Gore's interview with North Allegheny senior attacker Ryan Worsena prior to the game with Central Catholic, click here!  You can find other player and coach interviews from NA athletics at the "audio vault" link at the top right of the web page.     

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 20   CENTRAL CATHOLIC - 8

INDIVIDUAL SCORING (Goal scorers only)

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NA CRUNCHES HAMPTON, 19-9

by Lacrosse Contributor

The NA Tigers offense did a great job Monday evening disassembling the Hampton Talbots defense and scoring nine goals in the first quarter on their way to a 19-9 victory. The first was not only an offensive quarter though as the NA’s defense of Andy Stoof, John McMurtry, Mike Koon, and Clay Bunting, along with goalie John Abbondanza, held Hampton to one goal.  The first quarter offensive onslaught saw Mike Eck net four goals, Ryan Worsena tally three goals, and Jared Yon score twice to help give the Tigers a 9-1 lead at the end of one quarter of play.

Second quarter action had Joe Griffin scoring on assist from Eck (9:32), Billy Kelleher notching a goal from Art Stypula (1:04), and Eck scoring again (0:38).  Hampton managed four goals in the quarter to bring the score to 13-5, Tigers, at halftime.

NA started the second half with four quick goals, two by Dan Wiese (10:20, 8:41) one by Worsena (8:12), and another by Griffin from Kelleher (7:01). After a pair of Hampton goals, Wiese finished out the third with an unassisted goal with just 15 seconds remaining.  At the end of the third quarter, NA was up 18-7.

The start of the fourth brought on a string of substitutions by NA getting all players in the game for the last quarter and all of the players did a great job controlling the ball.  NA’s Matt Doerzbacher took control defending the goal while Yon put the Tigers last goal of the evening on the board at 10:34. Hampton scored a goal at 5:45 and again exactly as time expired. The final score read 19-9, North Allegheny.

The non-section win advances the Tigers record to 5-3 overall.  Hampton drops to 2-5 on the season.  The Tigers next game is slated for Monday, April 25^th at home against rival Central Catholic. Game time is 7:30 pm and can be heard live via the internet on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 19   HAMPTON - 9

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TIGERS EDGED BY SEWICKLEY ACADEMY

by Lacrosse Contributor

The Tigers traveled to infamous Nichols Field Friday afternoon for a battle between two of the powerhouses in the North for some real action filled lacrosse.  The heavy rain showers earlier in the week left the conditions of the natural grass field in what many described as a shambles, but that certainly did not keep this game a low scoring event.

NA’s Ryan Worsena was fed a nice pass from Billy Kelleher with just 41 seconds clicked off the clock in the first quarter. Forty seconds later Sewickley’s Ben Brown fired back with an unassisted goal.  Ryan Mauro from NA scored at 9:22 unassisted as did Mike Eck at 6:52.  Sewickley’s Rob Kendall fired in two quick goals at 6:40 and 6:00. Dan Wiese made a nice pass to Eck and he capitalized on it to score at 2:24 but Sewickley came marching right back with an unassisted goal by Ed Lally. The game was tied at the end of first 4-4.

The second quarter started off with a quick goal by Sewickley’s Lally at 10:42 and then just 40 seconds later Eck scored his third of the game at 10:04.   Worsena broke free from the tough Sewickley defense at 9:25 and scored his second of the game.  This game was beginning to be a real duel when Sewickley’s Ben Brown weaved some how thru the stepped up NA defense and scored at 9:01.  The Tigers adrenaline was starting to kick in as Eck had a goal at 7:06 and then Kelleher made a great shot right in front of the net with the assist going to Wiese.  Tigers went to the sideline at the half up 8-6.

Sewickley came out of the halftime huddle with determination on their minds.  Rob Kendall scored at 8:06 and then Matt Peter scored at 6:58.  NA’s Grady Wagner had a nice feed to Worsena at 6:46 but then Sewickley fired in three quick goals at 5:26 (Peter) 4:56 (Lally) and 3:32 (Brown).  At the end of the third quarter Sewickley was up 11-9.

The start of the fourth Sewickley’s scoring run continued with goals at 10:14 by Brown and 9:53 by Peter.  The Tigers fired back with an unassisted goal at 8:49 and the two quick goals by Wiese at 8:09 and 6:01 with both assists going to Worsena.  The score with 6:01 remaining was Sewickley 13, NA 12.  Hope was alive and the fans were going crazy thinking this game might just go to overtime.  Ed Lally scored one for Sewickley at 4:21 and the NA’s midfielder Jared Yon put an unassisted goal in at 3:34. Sewickley had the last goal with 30 seconds remaining and won with a score of 15-13.

The entire NA team including both goalies John Abbodanza and John Brandon, the middies Yon, Anthony Peluso, Grady Wagner, Christopher Leasher and Art Stypula along with the tough play by all of the defense really made this an exciting game to watch.  NA travels to Hampton Monday, April 18^th for its next game.

GAME SUMMARY
SEWICKLEY ACADEMY - 15   NORTH ALLEGHENY - 13

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NA CRUSHES FOX CHAPEL 14-3

by Lacrosse Contributor

The North Allegheny Tigers got off to a slow start this evening but once they got the train rolling down the tracks there was no slowing it down as NA defeated Fox Chapel on Wednesday night, 14-3.  First quarter action had Ryan Worsena and Artie Stypula scoring unassisted goals at 7:32 and 6:45 respectively.

In the second quarter, NA Defensive players Andy Stoof, Mike Koon, Clay Bunting, and Nick Skundrich were all over the Foxes, keeping the ball away from the NA Goal.  The defensive play by the Tigers was outstanding in limiting the Foxes throughout the entire game. Up 2-0, the Tigers went on a scoring run starting at 11:02 on the clock with a Worsena goal.  Dan Wiese scored a pair of goals, Worsena added two more and Mike Eck tallied a goal to put North Allegheny on top, 7-0.  Then Fox Chapel’s Alejandro Vega Scored at 2:40 to break the shutout, but NA struck back with another Worsena goal before the end of the half to send the Tigers into the locker room with an 8-1 lead.

The Tigers came out after the halftime and were still hungry for more scoring. Junior Christopher Leasher earned the game ball and scored with just 3:08 off the clock.  Eck had a goal with an assist from Worsena at 6:20 in the third and then a role reversal saw Worsena score with an assist from Eck at 5:30.  Stypula tallied his second goal of the evening at 2:53 remaining in the quarter followed by an unassisted goal by Billy Kelleher at 1:16.  At the end of the third, it was Tigers 13, Foxes 1.

The defense continued their stingy play in the fourth quarter with all of the Tigers’ reserves doing a tremendous job.  Vega scored for Fox Chapel at 8:35 and again at 6:54 to bring the score to 13-3. NA’s Tyler Peck fired in his first goal of the year at 3:50 of the fourth quarter and the Tigers had victory in their paws.  Final score NA 14,  Fox Chapel 3.  The Tigers will face Sewickley Academy in a non-section game at Sewickley’s Nichols Field on Friday Afternoon.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 14   FOX CHAPEL - 3

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TIGERS FALL TO HUDSON, 13-10

by Lacrosse Contributor

The NA Tigers lost a non conference game Saturday at Newman Stadium to the out of state Hudson (OH) Explorers.  With just 1:05 expired in the first quarter, NA's Ryan Worsena connected with an assist from midfielder Jared Yon to put the Tigers ahead 1-0. The Explorers offense took control for the rest of the first quarter with six relatively quick goals by Rob Lynott (9:19) Steve Jones (8:38) Cory Nye (6:32) Evan Findley (4:25) Zach Hruby (4:01) and Rob Lynott again at 1:32.  The Tigers trailed at the end of one, 6-1

North Allegheny head coach John Rullan must have lit a spark in the huddle between quarters because Yon scored on a terrific goal from a pass from Worsena early in the second period.  Just over a minute later Mike Eck had an unassisted goal and then Worsena fed a great pass to Dan Wiese who notched his first of the game.  Things were looking like a comeback was in store with the Tigers only down, 6-4.  The Explorers tightened up once again as Rob Lynott scored at 1:59 and Andrew Circelli at :59.  Tigers headed into the locker room at the half down 8-4.

The third quarter was not as eventful as the first two with a total of three scores, two by Eck of the Tigers (10:33 & 6:56) and one by Explorer Pat O'Loughlin (9:11).  North Allegheny trailed 9-6 after three quarters.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter it looked like the Tigers had figured out the Hudson defense.  At 9:17 of the period, Eck scored his fourth goal and at 7:05, Wiese scored his second for the day on a nice pass from Worsena closing the deficit to one at 9-8.  Hudson came back quickly with an unassisted goal from Lynott (6:12), but then Eck came right back for the Tigers with his fifth goal to make it 10-9, Explorers.  While things tightened up, Hudson essentially put the game away three more tallies before the end of regulation and claim a 13-10 win.  The Tigers got their final goal of the day from Eck, who posted six on the afternoon. 

After the non-section loss, North Allegheny falls to 3-2 overall.  The Tigers will meet Fox Chapel at home on Wednesday at 7:30 pm. 

GAME SUMMARY
HUDSON - 13   NORTH ALLEGHENY - 10

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NA TAKES DOWN FRANKLIN REGIONAL FOR FIRST SECTION WIN

by Mike Wiese

The NA Tigers beat the Franklin Regional Panthers in a decisive 14-9 victory on Wednesday night. With only 1:54 clicked off the clock attackman Ryan Worsena scored the first of his three goals of the evening.  Attacker Mike Eck added a goal with an assist from midfielder Jared Yon with the clock at 8:33.  Franklin Regional attackman Smallage scored with 8:09 in the first and then Franklin Regional’s Nate Keller tied it at two a piece with 4:30 on the clock.  NA took the lead back on an Eck goal with exactly two minutes left in the first quarter and then with just 36 seconds to go, Joe Griffin scored with an assist from Worsena.  NA lead at the end of one quarter, 4-2

The second quarter got off to a slow start with the first goal being scored with 7:19 on the clock by NA’s Ryan Mauro.  Eck scored his third of the evening with 4:44 in the quarter.  Franklin Regional answered right back with a goal at 2:47 by Zoeller, a goal at 1:39 by Korna, and a score at 1:15 by Zoeller.  At halftime, NA led by one goal at 6-5. John Brandon was in goal for the Tigers in the first half and did a great job of keeping the Panthers at bay.

Dan Wiese, the third attackman of the Tigers three headed monster came alive in the third period with an unassisted goal at 11:31, a second goal at 6:11 with an assist from Worsena, and his third goal of the night at 4:03 which also assisted by Worsena.  With 3:18 left in the third quarter, Worsena had notched his second goal of the night and things were looking very favorable for NA at 10-5. Franklin Regional wasn’t going to take this laying down and scored two quick goals at 1:23 by Smallidge, at :22  by Arrigo to cut the Tigers lead to 10-7.  Eck struck back for the Tigers with his fourth goal of the night with the assist going to Worsena to increase the score to 11-7, North Allegheny.

Franklin Regional scored in the fourth with a man up goal at 10:57 by Smallidge to trim and Smallidge tallied another goal at 6:02 left in the game to bring the score to 11-9.  Yon fired right back for NA with an unassisted goal at 4:07 to make it 12-9, Tigers.  With 2:33 ticks left on the clock, Griffin scored with an assist from Art Stypula.  The icing on the cake was provided by Worsena with the final score of the evening at 1:22 remaining to make it 14-9, North Allegheny.  The Tigers goal was protected very well by John Abbondanza in the second half.

The Panthers were previously undefeated in the section, but the Tigers knocked them from the ranks of the unbeaten with the win.  North Allegheny jumps to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in section play.  Franklin Regional is now 3-3 overall and 3-1 in the section.  The Tigers face Hudson at Newman Stadium on Saturday afternoon.  Face off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 14  FRANKLIN REGIONAL - 9

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NA BLOWS AWAY GOLDEN TORNADO

The Tigers rebounded from a tight defeat to Mt. Lebanon earlier in the week by blowing away the Butler Golden Tornado on Friday night, 15-1.  The non-section victory improves North Allegheny’s record to 2-1 on the season.  Butlers falls to 1-3 on the year.  The Tigers eye their first section win of the season on Wednesday, April 6 when they visit Franklin Regional.  The opening face-off is slated for 7:30 pm. 

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TIGERS FALL SHORT TO MT. LEBANON

In a game that went down to the wire at Newman Stadium, the North Allegheny Boys’ Lacrosse team fell just short in an exciting home opener against the Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils, 14-12.  The game featured a pair of teams with great offensive skill and it was on full display from the outset of the contest.  Just 10 seconds into the game, the Tigers Ryan Worsena scored to give NA an early 1-0 lead before some fans had even taken their seat. 

Both teams would exchange jabs frequently as Mt. Lebanon responded to NA’s opening goal quickly.  Nathan Relich tied things up for the Blue Devils at 1-1 with 10:51 on the first quarter clock.  Only 41 seconds after Relich’s goal, the Tigers Mike Eck followed with a goal to give NA the lead back at 2-1.  Despite numerous man-up opportunities in the first quarter, the Tigers could not add on to their lead, leaving the door open for Mt. Lebanon to tie the game.  With 1:12 remaining in the opening quarter, Jacob Shure knotted up the score at 2-2. 

Early in the second quarter, Mt. Lebanon grabbed their first lead of the contest when Timothy Brandt tallied a score to give the Blue Devils a 3-2 advantage.  North Allegheny wouldn’t stay behind for long as Bill Kelleher tied the game at 3-3 off of a nice feed from Worsena with 10:57 remaining in the second quarter.  However, the determined Blue Devils jumped ahead again when William McMahon scored just 31 seconds later to give Mt. Lebo a 4-3 lead.  Despite the Tigers best efforts, the Blue Devils stayed in front from the time McMahon scored until 8:36 of the fourth quarter. 

Twice in the game Mt. Lebanon held a three goal lead, but the relentless Tigers clawed their way back into the game on separate occasions.  However, each time NA drew to within a goal, the Blue Devils answered to balloon their advantage back to two goals.  That was until the fourth quarter.  With Mt. Lebanon leading 10-8 with 9:08 remaining in the contest, Jared Yon scored on a man-up situation to pull NA to within a goal.  Yon followed that up with another strike to tie the game at 10-10 with 8:36 to go in the game.  The goal was Yon’s fourth of the night, all of which coming in the second half.  For his late game heroics, Yon was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game. 

The Blue Devils would not let the Tigers pull ahead however, as Andrew Kuhn scored his second goal of the game to put Mt. Lebo ahead 11-10 with 6:11 to go.  Moments later, North Allegheny would get the equalizer from Eck with 4:37 to play to tie the game again at 11-11.  Mt. Lebanon rebounded with a quick goal from Scott Allen 14 seconds later to grab a 12-11 advantage.  It was a lead the Blue Devils would never relinquish.  After a McMahon goal made it 13-11, Worsena notched his third goal of the game to give the Tigers hope with 2:46 left in regulation to make the score 13-12.  Mt. Lebanon put the game on ice at 14-12 with a Relich goal with just under two minutes to play.  The play of Blue Devils goalie Riley Kirkland also proved important to the outcome.  Kirkland turned away several late game scoring chances by the Tigers. 

The non-section loss drops NA’s overall record to 1-1 on the season, while Mt. Lebanon improves to 1-1.  The Tigers are back in action Wednesday night with a home game against Norwin.  The opening face-off is slated for 7:30 pm at Newman Stadium. 

GAME SUMMARY
MT. LEBANON - 14  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 12

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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Any questions or comments should be directed to Athletic Director Bob
 Bozzuto at:  bbozzuto@northallegheny.org